Forgive and Forget
by ChrisMcLean-Cody-Duncan-TD
Summary: 13 year old Duncan and Courtney. Desperately convincing themselves that they'll never like each other. Desperately convincing the other cast members that they don't like each other. But when Duncan does something terribly wrong, and lands Courtney in danger, they both know it's time to forgive each other and try to forget everything that they hated to save each other.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

"Gwen!" my best friend's mother shouts stressfully, "you nearly forgot your ear-muffs!"

Gwen rolls her eyes, "Mom – it is spring now. I don't need ear-muffs."

Bridgette and I laugh. Gwen's mom is always behind on the festiveness.

"Look, really gotta go, I'll be back soon, I promise," Gwen says solemnly.

"And bring your tiny, hot boyfriend over after school please," her mom asked her politely.

"_Trent _is my boyfriend, mom. Not yours. And he can't. Trent's got a music recital after school," Gwen said, rolling her eyes again. Gwen's mom turns to look at me and Bridgette.

"Do you have any boyfriends, girls?"

Bridgette nods. Of course, she has Geoff. They're inseparable. I shake my head, but Bridgette nudges me.

"Aren't you and Duncan-" she whispers.

"No, we aren't. WHY does everyone _assume_ that we're going out?" I interrupt.

Gwen has shaken off her mom by now and we start to walk down the street on the way to school.

"Oh. So that thing about you and Duncan dating isn't true? Duncan insisted to everyone that you were dating," Gwen laughs.

"WHAT?!" I shout in disbelief. It takes me a few minutes to calm down, "_Why on earth_ do people ever believe Duncan?"

This is the second time Duncan has spread rumours about me and him dating. I don't know why anyone would actually believe him. We're in seventh grade now – and why on earth would anyone not know by now that he lies? I don't know if Duncan's extremely desperate, or if he really just likes annoying me.

"Knew it wasn't true," Bridgette murmurs to Gwen.

"I guess that sometimes he can be honest," Gwen points out, "like he was honest when Tyler got hurt and he got a teacher."

"Oh, _come on, _it was obvious that Duncan did that to Tyler, and then put the blame on Alejandro. And whose side are you with? Duncan's or mine?" I said, frustrated.

"Calm down, guys. Anyway, aren't you going to Trent's music recital? I thought you told him that," Bridgette says calmly.

"I cancelled," she admits honestly, "no offense to him, but they're rather boring recitals. He doesn't get to do much, and it's just two hours of literally nothing, after hearing him play, like, a thirty second piece. Bet Court would never cancel on one of Duncan's theft opportunities."

I growl at her.

"Just kidding, Court," Gwen says.

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. By the time our conversation has ended, we've reached the school.

Credence Junior High was a 'decent enough' school. It gave a 'decent enough' education, a 'decent enough' amount of places for new students to come in and – well not a decent enough amount of trust to its students. It was more than a decent enough amount. In opinion, Credence Jr. High gave too much trust to its students.

To sum it up perfectly – Duncan had got into a lot of fights and had never been found out as they 'trusted' him to be honest.

I had told on him several times, as she did when anybody did something wrong. This was often enough, actually. But this only resulted into grunts for replies. No one cared at all that much about what the students did, as long as they got a good education.

"Come on, Court," Bridgette whines, "I need to see _him_!"

"_Him_? Who? Geoff? You saw him last night," I point out.

"That was a full TEN HOURS ago."

Suddenly, I'm knocked off my feet.

"Watch where you're going, Duncan!" I scream.

He flips his skateboard up and tells me, "Well, watch where you're standing, Princess."

"It was your fault," I said, climbing to my feet, "that I got knocked down in the first place! Can't you just leave me alone?"

"And what's the fun in that?"

On my feet, I stare at him speechless. What should I say? He'll keep doing it to me no matter what. He is Duncan, after all.

So I reply, "Hey, what's this about you and me _dating_?"

"Well, we are, aren't we Princess?" he grins cheekily.

"NO. Never in my lifetime, would I date someone as terrible and as arrogant as you are, Duncan Rivers. You're the worst person I have ever met," I say with dignity.

"Well – let's wait and see, huh?" he nods at Bridgette and Gwen, and then skates off, "See ya, Princess!"

Ugh.

Bridgette stands beside me, with Geoff by her side now. "You alright?" Geoff asks.

"Yeah," I say, "just having some trouble with Duncan."

"He ain't as bad as you think," Geoff replies, "Duncan is actually a nice enough guy."

"Of course, Geoff. I get that you're friends with Duncan, but-" I scoff at him, "but he isn't as nice as he acts."

Gwen is looking at both of us.

"Hey, Court, help me find Trent! I'll look inside, you can look around the school, ok?" Gwen asks, obviously doing this to distract me.

I nod. I have to help Gwen.

Credence Jr. High is a pretty big school. There are so many places Trent could be.

I walk around the back walls of the building. School doesn't start for another twenty minutes. We arrived earlier then we expected, as Gwen's mom usually keeps us back.

I don't look up, and suddenly, I bump into something or someone. It throws me back around a metre, and I struggle to my feet. I struggle to see his face.

"Princess?"

_Ugh. Of course. This is typical. This always happens. _

_Why does Duncan go every place I ever go?_

**A/N – First chapter of first book completed! Please review, and tell me if this chapter is too short or too long…Should I continue writing this book? I'm not sure if it's any good. Sorry if this wasn't a very exciting chapter, but I wanted to start it off simply. Thanks ChloeRhiannonX for the advice. **

**Also, I'd like ideas for maybe different chapters in this book, please. Not sure where this is planning to go…which isn't very good!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"WHAT is wrong with you?" I ask, angrily.

"ME? What is wrong with me? I'm just doing what I do every day of my life. No, the real question is what is wrong with you, Courtney. You're the one who is outta place."

He called me Courtney. I stay stunned. Duncan never calls me Courtney. It's always been Princess; it's always been 'Goody-Goody Two Shoes'. But…never Courtney.

Friends rarely call me Courtney. It's always Court.

"Are you okay?" I say, examining him up and down.

"Oh, look. There it goes again! STOP IT. You don't own anybody. You don't need to mother anyone. But you do, Courtney," he scoffs, "life isn't all just dandelions and unicorns, okay?"

I look at him horrified. "I'm just looking for Trent, okay? A friend. At least, Duncan, I have friends."

"Oh, grow up, Courtney."

"I am! I don't live in the idea that we can all rob and steal to make it in life, ok? That's fine when you're five, Duncan. Not when you're nearly thirteen."

He doesn't say anything, but his face does. His silence speaks a million words. He walks past me, but he doesn't detour his way to go to the side of me, he just walks right into my shoulder. I fall down again, looking at him angrily.

"Oh, grow up, Duncan," I scoff.

I struggle to my feet. Ugh. Duncan. Of all the people…

"Courtney!" I hear someone scream, "Are you okay?"

I look around. It's Trent.

"Trent!" I shout happily.

He rushes to me, and helps me off my feet.

"Gwen was looking for you. She's inside."

"Really?" he says, rather merrily. "Awesome. I should go find her. Also, I'm throwin' a party this Saturday. Are you gonna come?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Trent's parties aren't too shabby. His parents are both musicians and are both pretty 'financially well off'. He's got this giant home that he has to throw parties. Tons of people come, and in the nutshell, it ain't all that bad.

"Great. Anyway, gotta go find Gwen. She'll be looking for me I bet. See ya, Court!"

Well, at least it wasn't completely fruitless.

"Are you coming to mine?" Bridgette asks, "Because you should."

"Na, Bridge. I really gotta get home. My parents will worry about me. And I've gotta study, Bridge. I've put that off for so long, you realise."

"I don't see why on earth you have to study to become a lawyer at thirteen," Bridgette points out.

"I…just do! I wanna succeed, okay?"

I see my mum's car drive up into the parking lot. It's a decent enough car. It's a Volkswagen Fox 1.2-litre urban 3dr. My brother accidentally banged into the old car several times, and it was pretty much wrecked. Due to the fact that my brother was riding a bicycle when he banged into the car, of course.

"Hey, mom," I say as I climb into the car and shut the door.

"Hello, Courtney. I better get back quickly because I've got some friends over," she says happily.

"Fr-fr-friends?" I question puzzled.

My mom isn't the kind of person who makes 'friends.'

"Yes. I met them at the Parent Interviews, and they were so amiable. I think they've actually got a son in your year…but, they work in the police force, and they are very sophisticated. I bet there son is very sophisticated to. So I want you to be nice and civilized to him, okay? They're picking their son up now, too, and then they'll be back."

"Of course I'll be civilized to him."

I wonder who he could be, really. To be perfectly honest – I know very few 'civilized' boys in my year. I continue to think – but by the time I just start we're already home.

I do what I usually do when I get home – head upstairs and do my homework.

"Courtney – the guests," she reminds.

"Call me when they arrive. I'm falling behind," I shout, running up the stairs.

I lay all my homework out on the floor. It's all mostly just worksheets, which I don't mind that much. I sharpen my pencil and begin to write the first word…

"COURTNEY! THE GUESTS HAVE ARRIVED," my mother shouts.

I sigh and head downstairs…who? Who could it be?

And before I can think about it more carefully, I'm starring right into the delinquent's eyes.

"Courtney, this is Mrs Rivers, and this is her younger son, Duncan."

To quote myself - Duncan. Of all the people…

"Hello, Courtney," Duncan says, sweetly. Innocently.

"Oh! Do you two know each other?" Mrs Rivers asks.

"Only vaguely," Duncan replies to his mom, "but I'll really like getting to know her better."

"Aww! See that, Courtney? What a lovely and kind boy he is! Why don't you two go out to the park? Do something fun together?"

Before I can reply 'No', Duncan chips in, "Oh, yes! Let's Courtney!"

It sounds like he's in one of those old 'Famous Five' books. Who on earth says 'let's' anymore?

"Well, off you two go," my mom insists.

"But, mom, I'm really behind-" I say angrily.

"Oh, don't spoil the fun for our guest," my mom interrupts, and pushes me out the door. She slams it quickly.

"Fancy seeing you here, Princess," he grins.

"Oh, give up, Duncan. You very well knew this was my house."

"What did you think of my act?"

"You make me sick. No wonder you're failing Drama."

"It wasn't that bad. Your mom fell for it," he points out, still grinning like a madman.

I spend a few moments saying nothing, until I come to realise the fact.

'I think they've actually got a son in your year…but, they work in the police force, and they are very sophisticated. I bet there son is very sophisticated to.'

"Your mom and dad work in the police force?" I ask, astonished.

"What's wrong with that? As if they're ever going to arrest their own son, Princess. It's great. It's a literal gold-mine," he says.

"Have they ever found out it was you?" I ask, still astonished.

"'Course not."

So – Duncan has never been caught? His parents work in the police force, and he never even thought about stopping?

"You are the most deceitful, arrogant and terrible person I have ever come across, Duncan! Are you never going to tell them!? And I bet not all of the police force is just your parents!" I scream at him angrily.

"Na. Just my relatives. Family business," he replies, laughing.

I'm speechless.

"Anyway, Princess, sorry to burst your bubble, but I really gotta get home. You know – night's out to plan, etc., etc. But I'll go to the park with you some other time, yeah?"

"Don't even bother! Why on earth would I want to hang out with you?"

"Well, the list is kinda long, good point...anyway, see ya, Princess!" he shouts and rushes down the streets, out of my sight.

**A/N – Second chapter completed! I may upload chapters rather quickly, as I have a lot of time on my hands. I'll probably upload once a day or more on weekdays and twice or more on weekends, with the exclusions of Christmas, New Year, etc. I don't expect many reviews since this is my first book, but if you're reading this, please review. I'll upload another one later today.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you planning to go to Trent's party tomorrow?" Bridgette asks me. Although she should know the answer that I am, she's only asking this in case I've had one of those mood swings in the morning when I don't want to go to school and say 'no' to everything. Typically, with Duncan on my back now, this happens quite a lot.

But luckily enough, not today.

Or more specifically, it probably will actually be today, but since I haven't seen Duncan yet, not yet anyway.

"Yeah. It's Trent's party. Who on earth with the right mind wouldn't go?" I say, managing a smile.

"People who don't like hills, or creepy, large houses," Bridgette points out.

Okay, good enough point. Trent's gigantic house is on top of this gigantic hill. Apparently, there wasn't enough room anywhere else to build his house, and this was the only spot left. And, on Halloween, Trent's parents decorated the whole exterior if the house with creepy cobwebs, and all these weird things, and then Trent's dad came out as a mummy and scared the little kids and older kids off.

Very few people come to Trent's anymore.

I hear a bunch of boys screaming in the distance. It doesn't take long for them to catch up with me, Bridgette and Gwen. There is four of them, as far as I can see, unless any others are behind them – Alejandro, Trent, Geoff, and with my luck it's always gonna be Duncan. They run up to us, stopping when they reach us, still shouting and screaming like maniacs. How immature can you get?

"Hey, Trent, how was the music recital?" Bridgette asks. I can see Trent's guitar is on his back, swinging and swaying about continuously.

"It went great! It was a really good recital. We've got another one in two weeks, so I'll have to start practicing. All you guys coming to the party tomorrow?"

"PARTY!" Geoff screams.

"Tomorrow," Alejandro reminds him, which makes Geoff give him an evil glare.

"Well, here's Idiotic Trust," Gwen mutters.

Credence Jr. High is mostly referred to by its students as Idiotic Trust. Idiotic, because they should never give us it and they are idiots to do so, and Trust because Credence is another word for trust.

As we walk in the building, I'm hit by millions of paper airplanes, and scrunched up notes. It's only 8:42, and the teachers only come at 8:59, as they don't care about what we do much. Posters hang around the school, advertising for clubs with only one or two members, and if we had real teachers, would be disbanded. Noticeboards are overflown with clubs trying to out-do one another. I belong to several clubs – but events rarely happen where we are useful.

"How are you and Heather?" I ask Alejandro.

Alejandro and Heather. What can I say? They aren't perfect, but they suit each other in ways. They're both manipulative and mean…etc., etc. just bad qualities really. But I bet Alejandro could have done a lot better than Heather.

"_Suficiente,_" he replies.

From my knowledge of Spanish, that means good enough. Or at least, something similar in meaning to it. But Alejandro spots Heather and he's off like a shot.

And that leaves me and Duncan, as we're the only ones here who aren't dating. Or never plan to be in a relationship with each other.

"Good morning, Princess," Duncan says to me, in a half sarcastic tone. I am not sure if he actually is being sarcastic or not.

Duncan looks like he always has since I've known him. His jet black hair looks scruffy and out of place, but he can pull it off rather well. His teal eyes look bored, and his white t-shirt under his black jacket is visible, as he's left it open and it drops down covering part of his shorts. He looks unexcitable, and by the look on his face, and the bags beneath his eyes, it looks like he hasn't been awake for long, and he hasn't got much sleep.

"Are you okay, Duncan?" I ask. I'm not worried, or anything, but he looks really terrible. I brace myself for 'Stop trying to be a mom, Princess' or something but he just gives me a short and sweet reply of –

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He seems half asleep.

Instead I take a new approach.

"So, what did you do last night?" I ask him politely. This is a rather interesting question, for most people would answer sleep, but Duncan's answers are always going to be extremely varied.

"Just stuff. I hung out with one of my friends," he mutters, nearly collapsing.

He looks like the living dead.

I pause, "Duncan, I think you should go home."

"I'll catch up on the sleep in class, Princess," he mumbles.

"But then you'll fall behind," I point out.

"Do you think I care?" he replies grumpily.

"Fine! Do it your own way," I tell him, "you won't get very far."

I walk away with as much pride as I have. Ungrateful pig! I was just trying to help him. I'll teach him a lesson. I remember something in an instant, and I walk back to the living dead monster.

"Duncan? Remember when you said you would walk with me in the park some other time? Well, I decided after school, we can go then. So, I'll see you after school," I say to him.

"I was going to go home after school and get some sleep, Princess," he says sleepily.

"Well, bad luck, your plans have changed. Now, goodbye," I say sweetly and walk away from him, laughing to myself.

_Serves the 'bad boy' right. _

'_**I hate you,**_

_**And then I love you. **_

_**It's like I want to throw you off a cliff,**_

_**Then rush to the bottom **_

_**To catch you.' **_

_A lot of times throughout school, my friends would tell me that I and Duncan were meant to be. I constantly denied it, as it wasn't true at the time, and it isn't true even now. He is a delinquent and I'm a C.I.T. He is evil, and as far as I am concerned, I'm a good person. _

_I've never really felt for him, I guess. He is no relevance to me, and I don't need him. I'll never need him. His existence is useless. _

_And whenever the whole opposites attract thing is brought up again in conversation, I deny it again. Let's face it. _

_I have no feelings for him whatsoever. _

**A/N – I hope this chapter was a little more descriptive. I wanted to get Courtney's feelings and outlook across more. If you've read the summary, and read the last bit of the chapter, you'll probably guess that she'll regret saying that. **

**I feel that the phrase kind of had some relevance to the relationship. **

**But…um…I'm not sure. This is my second chapter today, and I might upload another one later. Also, I'm really pleased with the amount of views, considering this is my first book.**

**Keep reviewing, and keep telling me what you think!**

**Okay – Chapter 4…**


	4. Chapter 4

Duncan, angrily and sleepily, drags me through the park in literal seconds after school. He obviously wants to get home and sleep.

"Happy?" he growls at me angrily.

"No. That was a _drag_ through the park, Duncan. Not a _walk_."

"Look," he says in a softer voice, "Court, I'm really tired today. I promise you I'll owe you one."

I really want to annoy him by saying 'no' like he has annoyed me for the past years…but I have my morals.

"Sure," I sigh, and he smiles and starts to make his descent home, obviously shattered.

"See you tonight, Court!"

_Tonight? Why on earth would Duncan see me tonight? _

_It's a Friday, and Trent's party is tomorrow night…_

_Maybe Duncan just got the dates wrong. _

"So, how's school lately? Been in much trouble?" my mom jokes, as she washes the dishes. The kitchen is bright – but my father always complained about that, saying that he would have much preferred it being bare. It's yellow – my mom's favourite colour – and cupboards are positioned around the walls. I hand her the dishes carefully.

"School's fine. And you know, I don't get into much trouble," I reply solidly. I'm not really in the mood for fun. "Hey, mom, Trent's having a party tomorrow. Can I go?"

"Sure, sure," she says as she turns on the TV and stops listening.

This is one of the things that typical parents do. They say 'sure' to everything, but they're not really listening.

"I'm gonna go up and start studying," I say to her, and then rush upstairs.

I log onto my computer and IM Bridgette.

**Courtney9840-** Hi.

**SurferChic87-** Hi, Court.

**SurferChic87**-You excited for Trent's party?

**Courtney9840- **Yes!

**SurferChic87 –** What time are you going to come at?

**Courtney9840- **Around seven.

**SurferChic87- **Me too!

**GothGirl32**- Hello, Court, Bridge.

**Courtney9840**- Gwen!

**GothGirl32**- Does anyone wanna sleep over at mine after the party? Mom going crazy.

**SurferChic87**- Count me in.

**Courtney9840** – Me too.

**GothGirl32** – Great. See ya at the party. GTG.

**GothGirl 32** has logged off

**Courtney9840** – GTG. See ya, Bridge.

I turn off my computer, and as I spread my homework and books out, I look up and see it is raining heavily outside.

_That's weird, because we're in the middle of spring. _

I don't ponder on this fact for too long. I don't really feel like I need to. If it rains, it rains. It won't matter at all to me.

I continue to work. I keep studying until late.

I don't know why I do it. I think I'm just keen to succeed. I think I just want to make a life out of myself. I don't care at all what other people think of me that much – it's just success. I don't care if I disappoint other people, I just don't want to disappoint myself.

I turn my lights out at about eleven. I've done everything I've wanted to get done.

I climb in my bed and try to fall asleep. It's nearly one, and at that time I've had five minutes sleep.

Then I hear something hit my window…

**A/N- Okay, sorry! This is an extremely short chapter, and I am sorry for that! But I had to have something that was building it up, and this was it. I'm not sure if I'll upload anymore today…but tomorrow morning, I promise I will, okay? Also, I'm looking for a beta reader who focuses on Total Drama work. Not completely, but at least knows the characters. Suspense…what has hit her window? Who I doing this to her? What will happen? I'm Chris McLean, and find out next time on, For-give and For-get! (echo)**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

I quickly get out of my bed, and look out the window. It still is pouring. There is a small tree that leads up to my window. I used to climb it a lot and get into the house that way and trick my mom.

But I know for sure I wouldn't climb it now. Mainly, due to the fact that I am here right know.

I see a figure start to climb the tree. He's rather agile, and he reaches the window in seconds.

Duncan.

I stare at him astonished. Why would he be here, now? It's 1:07 in the morning.

_What?_

"Courtney, just, please let me in," he asks. Or he begs. I open the window up for him. I take pity on the delinquent in the pouring rain.

He climbs into my bedroom. He's dripping wet. _What? Why?_

"Duncan, are you okay? What on earth happened?" I ask, "Duncan, its 1:07 in the morning, and you just turn up here? At my house? This isn't a joke, Duncan! This is the stupidest prank ever!" I pace around the large bedroom.

"Princess, this ain't a prank. This ain't a joke!" he growls at me.

"W-what did you do?" I ask nervously.

"Look – Court – they're chasing me, I'm pretty sure. Your house was the closest."

"Who's chasing who?" I say, and then hear sirens underneath.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! _THE POLICE_?" I growl, trying to be quiet as I know my mom is probably still awake.

"Court – we don't have long, we gotta run," he insists.

"No – you gotta run. I'm going to stay right here," I tell him.

"_Do you not get it?_ I'm in this house. They'll know I'm in this house. They'll inspect this house and you'll be in trouble."

I realize that he's right. I might as well put up a fight.

"Okay – but…how about we get caught, huh…"

"Trust me, Princess, we won't. We'll just do a lap around a few places I know, and we'll lose em."

I nod, "Out the window, then?"

He nods back at me, "Out the window."

'_**The adrenalin and stress of an adventure is better than a thousand peaceful days.' - Paulo Coelho**_

I had never noticed how fast I actually ran. We were full speed now, and we were deep into the town by now. Duncan leads me down alley-ways and in about 10 minutes we had lost the police completely.

I want to say something to clear the silence, but I can't find much to say. What am I supposed to say to him? We just outran the cops.

"That was my family," Duncan says, clearing the silence, "they nearly caught me."

I'm astonished. That was his family?!

"Then why did you run from them as if they were complete strangers?" I ask.

"You don't get it. All my relatives work in the police force."

Ah.

It's a family business that Duncan will never take. Duncan's an only child, so his parents are going to pass the business down to him.

"I'm sorry," I tell him.

"Ain't matter. If we're lucky, they'll open the door and see your parents and forget about the whole thing. I need to get back, anyway," he says out of breath.

"Where to?"

"Places," he smirks. "And by the way, it was lovely spending the evening with you, Princess."

"And may I say, it wasn't half bad spending the _morning_ with you. As long as next time, YOU DON'T DRAG THE POLICE'S ATTENTION TO MY HOUSE!" I scream at him.

"Calm down Courtney. Tonight was good."

"For you," I say, my eyes drifting away. It occurs to me then that I am an accomplice. I am an accomplice to a criminal.

"Yeah. I got to steal some donuts."

I look at him speechless.

_I just went through all that hassle so that he could steal some donuts?!_

Duncan sees my expression.

"They were Dunkin' Donuts. But now, Princess, they're Duncan's Donuts!"

"That is the stupidest joke I have ever heard," I tell as he burst into laughter.

"See if you ever put me in this trouble again all because of the reason that you want to steal some stupid _donuts_, I will kill you, Duncan. This was the stupidest and most terrible thing you have ever done. But, I'll highlight _stupidest_, because no offense, but I'm gonna bet that you've done worse than this. And I'm being deadly serious," I tell him angrily.

"Chill out. I'll walk you home, Princess. Ya know what; we'll go through the park."

"Fine."

Everything is dead silent at this time of night. You might hear the occasional dog bark, but that's it. I realize all along that Duncan blends in perfectly with this group of people. The people that come out at night when all is silent and steal stuff.

"What do you think?" Duncan asks, as I think he sees me looking around.

"Of what?" I ask him, peering my head around, making sure I see all that there is to see.

"Of the nightlife," he answers back, grinning.

"Well, no offense, but it's rather dull. Like we've only got a few teenagers stealing stuff. No cuisine, or lights, or even celebrations. No markets-" I start.

"Well, what did you expect? If there was cuisine, lights, or celebrations, I wouldn't have been able to steal these delicious Duncan Donuts," he interrupts.

"First time not even funny, second time even worse."

We arrive at the house. The police are gone.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed our first date."

I nearly erupt in front of him. How dare him!

"THIS WASN'T A FIRST DATE! WE AREN'T DATING! IF THIS WAS, THIS WAS THE WORST DATE I HAVE EVER HAD!" I scream at him.

"Well, the Princess has got a dark side. See ya at Trent's tomorrow!" Duncan laughs, and then rushes down the street.

Ugh.

**A/N –So, is this the starting point of these two? Oh, okay, I got really bored so I decided to give you another chapter. As I pointed out, I upload a lot! So, Chapter 5 is up! Now, Chapter 6 is definitely for tomorrow. **

**Also, I'm not sure how many chapters this book will have. 18-20, probably. **

**Review, and thanks for all the views! I appreciate every single view I get, as I only expected like one view. I'm easy to please. **


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

Ever heard the phrase, Thank God It's a Friday? I've changed that phrase – Thank God It's a Saturday. Because if it was a Friday, I wouldn't be able to sleep in. And I really need that sleep. Spending a night with Duncan really makes you tired. I sleep late, only waking up at one in the afternoon. I trudge downstairs reluctantly.

"You missed breakfast, sweetheart."

"Yeah, I know, okay. I'm sorry."

According to my family, breakfast has to be celebrated. It's a new dawn of a new day, and that's important to them.

"You know, we got a call from Mrs Rivers and Mr Rivers last night. I was all 'oh, what a weird time to visit,' but I invited them in for a cup of tea anyway. Apparently, they were chasing this young criminal, and he was heading down our street. They lost him, but they said it wasn't that major a crime anyway. So, Courtney, do you fancy brunch?"

"I'm not really in the mood to eat anything now. Also, remember I'm going to Trent's party tonight, and I might be back a bit later than usual."

"Oh, okay," my mom replies.

I'm not in the mood for anything now. I'm annoyed, and last night sits on my mind. I was an accomplice to a criminal.

"Also, I invited Mrs Rivers over today. She said she'll probably bring her son…what's his name again, Courtney?"

"Duncan?"

"Ah yes, Duncan. So I hope like that last time you will be kind and civilized to him. He's such a sweet, innocent boy. He's the perfect son."

"Yes, mom, I completely agree, Duncan is the _perfect _son," I reply, chuckling, "he's absolutely _flawless_. Anyway, I might head out for a while before he arrives. I've got some things to clear up around town."

"Don't we all," my mom replied.

_**We live in a world that is built on promises – constructed by liars. **_

The first thing that was on my mind was to talk to Zoey.

Zoey was a friend from school. We had met occasionally, and she was always seemingly great with dealing with these things. Zoey's got a boyfriend called Mike, who's got a multiple personality disorder, so she can deal with most things by now.

She doesn't live that far away from me, only about a street away. I ring the doorbell when I approach her house, and of course Zoey answers.

"Courtney! Come in," she says happily, but then looks puzzled, "what's up?"

It's a long conversation, but Zoey seems to understand. She seems to understand it all.

"So – what are you more panicked about, the fact that you are an accomplice in a small crime, or the fact that you like Duncan? Or is it both?"

"What do you mean? I don't like Duncan."

"Well, it's kinda obvious Courtney. Maybe you just don't see it yet. But you'll see it, Courtney. Maybe not for a while, but when the time comes it will be right before your eyes."

"But…I don't. Duncan and I aren't right for each other; he's got so many flaws-"

"And Mike doesn't?"

I look at her, rather astonished. She can't possibly be right.

"People have flaws, Court. If we didn't have flaws, we'd all be stuck-up, and we'd all be egotistical. So, sometimes – if we keep pointing out someone's flaws, it just shows that we treat them more special, because you wouldn't point out your friend's flaws, like you would with this person. So, by telling people his flaws, it shows that you like him. That you pay special attention to him."

"Okay…I gotta go, Zoey. But thanks. For helping me."

"Come by anytime!"

Next, I have to visit Gwen.

I walk to Gwen's house silently, think about what Zoey said. She was right. I point out things about Duncan that I wouldn't point out in any one else too much. But I can't just not do anything!

I suddenly bump into something.

"I'm sorry, Court! Are you okay?"

Gwen.

"Yeah! I was just looking for you."

"Me? Why?"

"Look, Gwen, last night it was raining, and Duncan had robbed this donut store and he came into my house and then we ran away into town and avoided the cops, but then I'm nearly 100% sure that he tried to hook up with me, telling me all these weird things like, 'I hope you enjoyed the date' and 'It was a great first date, Princess' and now I'm not sure why I am panicking at all – is the fact that I was an accomplice in a crime, or is the fact that I actually enjoyed being with Duncan?" I rush, panicking.

"Hey, Court. You really need to chill out. You enjoyed a night with a dude. You ran. You're acting like you just murdered someone, Court. What you did? It's nothing, Court, okay? Stop acting like it's gigantic," Gwen says, calmly, "they didn't catch you. As long, Court, as they didn't catch you, nothing is going to happen that is so extremely bad, okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…it was Duncan. I liked being with _him_."

"Court, it's nothing. Now you should go home and prepare for the massive party Trent's gonna have later. He's been texting me all day saying that this is going to be his best one yet. Anyway, I'm going to go and see Bridgette. She wanted me over for some reason. Wonder if she and Geoff stole a surfboard from a surf shop and she enjoyed the night with him and now she is panicking like crazy about what she's going to do."

I glare at her.

"Just kidding, Court!"

I start to walk home. Gwen is right. It was nothing.

Nothing happened between me and Duncan. He did what he usually did last night and that was teasing me. That's all. There isn't anything more to it.

**A/N – So Courtney admits she enjoyed the previous night, and starts to face her Duncanlovephobia. **

**Thank you for everyone who is viewing this. I keep seeing that this keeps getting viewed tons, and I'm like WOW. Thank you so much! **

**Okay, I'm ashamed. I'm uploading this chapter tonight. Ugh. I really shouldn't. It is wrong, really, but I can't stop writing! This is Chapter 6. Planning to have 18-20 chapters, so hopefully I'll have this book finished soon enough. **

**THANK YOU! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

When I open the door into the house, Mrs Rivers and her _perfectly flawless_ son sit at the table in the kitchen. My mom keeps telling Mrs Rivers comments like 'oh, they grow up so fast' and 'I remember when I first got her'. Duncan seems to listen in front of the two parents, replying politely, but his teal eyes look bored. They always do when he is someplace he doesn't want to be.

My mom spots me instantly when I enter the house. I always thought she had this weird 'Courtney' sense that made this possible.

"Hello, Courtney! Why don't you and Duncan go out for a while? Take a walk?"

For a mere moment, I thought she meant why I and Duncan don't date each other. Ugh.

"Sure. I'd be honoured to go with Courtney," Duncan says sweetly. And of course the house erupts into several sounds of pleasure like 'aw' and 'coo'.

"Well, off you go! And be back by five, apparently Duncan has a party to go to this evening," my mom says, looking like she's about to cry at how sweet and kind Duncan was.

She nearly _pushes_ us out the door, and then closes the door without anything to say.

And unhappily, I stare into the delinquent's eyes. It's an awkward silence, until he breaks it. Which I didn't want him to, as I prefer him being silent then I prefer him talking.

"Aw, come on, Court, lighten up," he replies, his usual grin spreading across his face.

I don't reply at all, I just walk past him and pretend I didn't hear him.

"What are you so caught up on? We weren't caught," he says, getting annoyed, "and that's it. Now, Princess, just _lighten up_ and try to be in a good mood for a good party."

I still don't reply. What's the use? Whatever I say, Duncan just makes a witty comeback.

"So what, are you giving me the silent treatment?" he says, now really annoyed, "I don't care, 'cause at the end of the day, what difference does it make?"

Then what Zoey says come backs to me. I don't just point out his flaws, he also points out mine. So that means he does pay more attention to me than the others, and so really, it does make a difference.

"It obviously does make a difference, Duncan. Stop acting like you don't-care-about-anything-in-your-whole-life. Because, Duncan, wake up and face reality. You do," I say, angrily, "and stop acting like you're so tough. Dude, you're scared of your family. What a wimp."

I shouldn't have said that. He looks like he's about to erupt. But I need to say more.

"You only steal because you're so useless that you can't do anything else. You only tease me because you have no real friends," I continue, "and to be perfectly honest-"

Abruptly, he pounces on me.

He pins me down in seconds, obviously really annoyed about all the remarks.

"I can't believe," he starts, "you just said that. I trusted you last night."

"Trust? That's not defining trust! What if we had got caught?" I ask him angrily.

"We wouldn't have!" he shouts, "I'm not that stupid, okay? I knew what I was doing."

"But there was a possibility," I reply.

"Court, there's a possibility to everything! That's not exactly specific!"

I whine, trying to get up, but he still has me pinned down and he doesn't seem keen on letting me go.

"Look, Duncan, all I'm saying we could have been found out! And I've got a reputation to hold. I'm going to go to Law School and become a sophisticated lawyer-" I tell him angrily.

"And I'm gonna be a supermodel. Let's face it, Princess; the odds of you becoming a _sophisticated _lawyer are similar to the odds of me being a supermodel," he says, chuckling.

"What are you trying to say? That I'm not sophisticated?"

I have always been sophisticated and civilized. It was in my personality to be sophisticated. Even Duncan should know that.

"Well, to be fair, Princess, look where you are now."

He's got a decent enough point, I guess. I am being pinned down by a rogue, and am chatting angrily over a crime that was committed last night, with me being an accomplice.

Okay, maybe I'm not _completely_ sophisticated.

He seems to loosen his grip, and I catch him by surprise and throw him off me. I climb to my feet before he can pin me down again. He looks challenged, but I look away to show him that I don't want to accept.

"Look, Court," he says honestly, "Geoff's was nearer than your house. But I trusted you to be my accomplice. Instead of being horrid to me, you can at least try to be honoured that I picked the Princess over my best friend. So let's face it, let's stop fighting, and try to give a little respect to me for picking you, okay?"

I'm puzzled by this. In an everyday situation, he would have always picked Geoff. Always. Geoff, DJ (but then again, DJ would just start crying and tell the police that he committed the crime, and he wouldn't do it again, so no wonder I've never heard of Duncan/DJ crime before) and Duncan were always a trio.

I still don't reply. I ignore him completely.

"Fine. If you want to be like that, Courtney, feel free to," Duncan says, huffily. "Tell my mom that I had to go home, and I had some more homework to do over the weekend, okay?"

I grunt. That's the height of the response.

I walk home. All I want to do is get ready for Trent's party.

_**They'll ignore you know, but they'll need you someday. That's life. **_

**A/N – It's a new day! Yay! More chapters for you guys. Might only post a chapter tomorrow…ya know what, I'll post two. I'll write one in class when I'm watching one of those long movies about Christmas as the teachers just sit and listen to the noise. I love Christmas in school. **

**I'll be gone on 24****TH**** and 25****TH ****so I'll try and make it up to you now. I'll try to get as much work as I can get done today, might give you three chapters…could squeeze four if lucky. What can I say? I'm a nice person. Still looking for beta. Also, happily accepting quotes to put in the story, like above. Thanks for viewing this. Reviews are always welcome. **


	8. Chapter 8

"No wonder you prefer Trent coming to yours then you coming to his," Bridgette told Gwen ask all three of us conquered the massive hill. You could see brightly coloured lights even from the bottom of the hill. Spotlights surrounded the house, shining all around it.

"Well, yeah. I think if we ever get married, we're more or less moving house," Gwen said, tiredly, "our at least moving _the_ house."

"They," I say as I trudge up the hill, puffing and wheezing, "should have thought about where they were going to put the house more carefully."

"But then again, they bought the house before Trent was born. Who would have really known that they would have had a son that was going to throw these kinds of parties?" Gwen muttered. "You know he's got like 150 people coming to this."

150 was a big enough number for a seventh-grader's party, but I wasn't really that shocked. Trent had a knack for getting big numbers to come to his parties.

"So, how are you and Duncan?" Gwen asked quizzically.

"YOU AND DUNCAN?!" Bridgette exclaimed. "SINCE WHEN?!"

"It's not like that Bridgette," she pauses, "I swear."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE GOT A BOYFRIEND!" Bridgette said, jumping on her best friends and screaming.

"We aren't dating, Bridge," I say, trying to calm her down.

"Well, are you close to dating?" she asks hopefully.

"No," I reply.

We're standing in front of Trent's house. The spotlights keep shining different colours and going in different directions. I lean in, and ring the doorbell. Trent opens it seconds later.

"Hi, Courtney, Bridgette and Gwen! Come on in, the party is just getting started."

I walk in, and see a usual Trent party scene. Music blasts from speakers controlled by a DJ, a giant table of food is laid out carefully, only to later be consumed by Owen, people are talking in small groups holding drinks, and the weird, vain ones dance. It's filled, around at least 120 people – but the space is ginormous, so it barely looks like many people are here.

Against a wall to my right, I see Duncan and Geoff talking casually. They look like they're trying to pull off the chilled kind of look, but Duncan is seemingly restless, so it doesn't work. In my view are Heather, Lindsay and Beth in a group, with Alejandro standing beside Heather. DJ is talking to the DJ about how weird it is that his occupation shares his name, Izzy and Owen are standing by the food, Trent is fiddling with his guitar, while chatting to Gwen and Bridgette, Sierra and Cody stand in a corner while Cody tries to get away from her. Justin holds a mirror and admires his wonderful good looks; Ezekiel and Noah just stand in another corner, sharing mere conversation.

I consider who to join. My two best friends, Bridgette and Gwen seem to be rather intrigued by the guitar, so I'll leave them to it. In my mind, I actually want to make up with Duncan. Maybe I was a little _too_ rough on him.

I slope against the wall, not too far from Geoff. In an instant, he notices me and drags Duncan over with him.

"Hey, Court," Geoff says, smiling, "what do you think of the party?"

"Decent. A usual Trent," I reply, "Anyway, sorry, Duncan, ya know, about earlier," I say, trying to act cool about it.

"It's 'k," he replies, "I've had worse."

"Ahh. You guys been arguing? You really need to stop that. Why on earth can't we all just PARTY?!"

"Yeah, Duncan. Why can't we all just party?" I ask him, staring at him.

He pauses.

"Because there are a lot of worse things happening in the world," he replies, not looking at me at all.

_**Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.**_

"So – you guys cool?" Geoff asks, rather casually, but I'm pretty sure he's feeling pretty bad.

"Yeah," Duncan replies. His tenseness in the situation shows that he wants to leave the conversation, but his best friend is here, and he can't really leave.

But then Geoff goes over to DJ, and Duncan doesn't leave.

Which suggests he was tense about talking to Geoff.

Duncan shuffles over to me, as I immediately tense up and I try to shuffle away from him.

"So – you up for tomorrow night?" he asks, mischievously.

"…No."

"Don't worry, Princess, we won't get caught. And it'll be fun, I swear."

I shuffle closer to him, "You're the worst at persuading people."

"I know."

"So why even bother?"

"Because sometimes I can chance my luck with stuff. Like this."

And the he kisses me.

And the first sentence that enters my mind?

Duncan and Courtney.

**A/N – Aww…sorry if this was short. As I previously mentioned, I was gonna be away today. I still am, but I hadn't given you a chapter in a while, so I wrote this one for you. Thanks for over 250 views, and the favourites, and the reviews. So – what's next? Hm…**


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, I have possibly too much time to think. Having too much time to think is one of those things I try to avoid in life, because most of my brilliant thoughts come when I'm under pressure – and when you've got _too _much time to think, that's not the case.

The next problem is that I've got a thought stuck in my mind that I want to get out. Duncan and I are completely wrong for each other. But then, the same thought keeps surfacing in my mind. _Did I kiss Duncan or did he kiss me?_

No matter how many times I convince myself he kissed me, and even if it is true, _I wanted it._ That's the worst part of it all. _Maybe I never would have kissed him, but I wanted to. _

Part of me again wants to replace **Thank God It's Friday** with **Thank God It's Sunday **because I really wouldn't want to be in school today. My thoughts go to whether I should tell Gwen or Bridgette. I come to a quick conclusion – no. Gwen would just tease me about it…and Bridgette would start screaming over excitedly like a puppy and go and tell everyone. I could tell Zoey, but she's more of a therapist then an actual friend. She really should go into that area. She's great at it.

Shortly after church, I'm about to head up to my room. I have plans – to study. I nearly dash up the staircase, only to be stopped by my mom.

"Courtney? I was thinking that we could invite Mrs Rivers and her son over for dinner tonight."

_WHY? WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN?_

"So sorry, mom, but you see….I'm u—um-uh-going to Gwen's tonight. So I won't be able to come," I reply, innocently.

"Can't you call it off, darling?" my mom asks. "Is it really that important?"

"Yeah. Gwen's uh- going through a tough time," I lie.

"What happened?" says my mom, panicking.

"Yeah, well, her parents got divorced recently, and her brother died last week. So, I'm going over to uh-um- share her pain."

This is a complete and utter lie. Gwen never had any brothers or sisters, and her parents are divorced. But it sounds pretty bad, so I'm just gonna act like it is true.

"That's terrible," my mom replies.

"Yeah."

"Forget that I ever mentioned dinner, darling. Go over and help that poor child – I mean, Gwen, - this evening, okay?"

"If you insist," I reply, as I dash up the stairs. I can hear my mom talking my dad and muttering 'poor child'.

I spend the rest of the afternoon flicking through books and finishing the homework I have for this weekend. It's long and interesting, but it takes me a while anyway.

It hits six soon enough and I get up and slip on my coat. I'll have to go to Gwen's – she'll taunt me about Duncan, but still, she's a good enough friend. At least I'm not going to Heather's or Lindsay's.

I'm standing at the door when I hear a slight knock on the window. Abruptly, I turn around to see a grinning Duncan perched on the tree outside. I sigh in defeat – Duncan does know how to come at the weirdest times.

"Hey, Princess," he laughs, as I open the window angrily.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, DUNCAN?!" I scream. I'm angry. _**I'm really angry. **_

He seems rather taken aback by my anger, as he nearly loses his grip on one of the branches he's holding to keep himself up, but he pulls himself up again, and flicks his jet black hair back quickly.

"You aren't Justin, Duncan," I reply, rather angrily, but surprised to see his vanity.

"'Know I'm not," he mutters grumpily, but soon lightens up. "So what ya doing tonight, Princess, huh?"

"I'm going to Gwen's," I reply, "and you aren't coming." Not that he'd want to – I can imagine Duncan sitting in the middle of all of us girls as we giggle and chat and he raises his eyebrows and huffs.

"But you won't be there all night, right?" he persists.

"Duncan, I really – no, really, Duncan, please don't. We've got school tomorrow…and I don't want to be late."

"You won't. You'll do anything to avoid that."

Although she'd never admit it to his face, she knew in her mind that it was true.

"That was a one-off."

"Come on. Let's try it again."

"No."

He sighed and climbed in the window, landing on my floor with a crash. He stood up and started pacing around the room. I could see it in his eyes he was about to say something about me never doing anything fun.

"See when you're old and bored to death, and you're talking to you grandchildren in an old rocking chair, swaying back and forth, and then they ask, "Grandma Courtney, did you do anything fun in your life?" and you'll have to reply, "Oh no. I had an opportunity to – but I never did."? Well this is the chance to change that! You'll only get one shot, Princess."

"I'll do something fun later in my life."

"Don't be so sure."

…

"Look, Duncan, I don't want to go and steal stuff for my lifestyle. I kinda want to do something important with my life."

"So do I. Stealing helps the economy."

"How?!" I ask. _Since when has stealing helped the economy?_

"You see – the more I steal, the more alarm systems are built, and so more people are getting jobs building the alarm systems. See? I'm helping everyone."

"Not really. You're kind of balancing it out. Because technically, people will get fired at the place you stole from, so-" I begin.

"Shut it, Princess! Are you with me or are you not?" Duncan smirks at me as if it's his permanent facial expression.

I sigh, "Sure."

"Great. See you tonight, then."

"Yeah. BYE." I say, waving my hand.

He looks at me reluctantly, and then kisses me.

Again.

Ugh.

_**Here we go again.**_

_**I understand the weaknesses of pride, of lust for power, of desire of the flesh, of greed and vanity and love.**_ – _The Mortal Instruments, City of Fallen Angels, Chapter 16, Page 343_

**A/N – Ok, I haven't written in a while. I broke my leg. No, I didn't. That's a lie. I just didn't have the time. So – hands in the air, I'm sorry. And I'm still looking for betas. And please review. **


	10. Chapter 10

"So, I didn't see you that much at the party," Gwen asks, playing around with the Chinese food in one of those takeout boxes we ordered about a quarter of an hour ago in her room. Gwen's mom doesn't really like cooking much on Sundays for some weird reason, and we'd both already had pizza, but we were both relevantly hungry.

"Yeah, well," I say, as I suck one of the noodles in slowly, biding time to think of a reasonable answer, "I ended up bumping into Izzy."

'Bumping into Izzy' was a reasonable enough excuse for anyone. Izzy seems to talk for hours and hours, and she says some pretty weird stuff if you care to listen to her. Of course, no one actually does.

"Ahh," Gwen replies, "that doesn't make sense."

Ugh. Gwen has the capability of doing that – acting like it's a good answer, and you think you got away with it – then pouncing on you and telling you it doesn't make any sense at all.

"How? I _was _with Izzy."

"No, it's just; I was with Izzy the whole night, and she didn't leave my side once. Trent asked me to look after her because he thought she might, like, blow the house up or something," she pauses, "so that wasn't the case."

I pause, eating my Chinese food slowly and trying to avoid her glare.

"And you weren't with Bridge, either. The odds are you weren't with Heather, Lindsay and Beth – you don't' like Eva that much – I and Izzy were together, Leshawna was with Harold…" she continues, "you wouldn't hang out with much of the others…"

"Does it really matter? Like, it's not going to make a big difference, is it?" I ask her quickly.

She sighs and shrugs, "Guess not. Just like knowing, I guess."

"Also, my mum thinks…well, that your parents um…like, got divorced and your brother died."

She nearly chokes on the food.

"Wait, why? _Do I have a brother_?" Gwen asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, no," I admit, "but my mom wanted to invite Duncan and his mom over, and I needed some kind of excuse to make sure she didn't, so pretending that you were going through a tough time was my best idea."

"Wait, give me a second to catch up, _your mom_ wanted to invite _Duncan_ over? _Why_?"

"I don't know that well. Well – yeah, my mom liked his mom and then she invited his mom over and my mom made me hang out with Duncan…"

"WOW."

"What?" I reply, rather annoyed.

"You must be close then," she replies.

"No!" I nearly shout.

She pauses.

"You kissed," she mouthed.

"We didn't," I lower my voice.

"Me and Bridge saw."

A sensation feels my mind. They saw?! They saw us. They knew. She sees me looking numb.

"Court-it's just-we…we didn't see it coming _at that time_. None of us did. It shocked me. It's obviously shocked you," she whispers softly, "like – we knew it would be him. Some stage."

"Don't say that, Gwen," I tell her. "Don't act like that."

"What? Act like we knew? You know at the start of every year since I turned eight, a few of us – not many – usually just me, Trent, Bridge, Geoff, Heather and then later Alejhandro – used to bet whether you'd actually date this year. We just didn't expect at this time…"

"Have you told the others yet?" I demand.

"No."

"Don't. Please. I'll tell them in my own time. I'll visit Bridge later and tell her the same."

"Fine."

There's an awkward silence in the room.

"So –uh…you and Duncan, huh?"

"GWEN!"

"Oh, come on, calm down. How'd it feel? You know – C.I.T and criminal."

I pause for a moment, "Indescribable." I rise to my feet, "Anyway, I gotta go Gwen. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. See ya."

I walk down the stairs, and close the front door quickly as soon as I'm out. I sigh to myself, and walk down the streets to Bridge's. _So, in a way they all knew. They all expected, for what – five years? And I never knew. _

Friends – does it ever work full time?

Of course it doesn't.

I reach Bridgette's street, and rush up to her house. I knock on the door and Bridgette opens it in seconds, "And you and Duncan had nothing going on, huh?"

"Bridge, you're not allowed to tell anyone else. At all. Okay?"

"Sure," she says, rolling her eyes.

"Great. I'm going to go."

"Like, now? But it's only like 9:56p.m…ah, yeah. You should go."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow in school?"

"'Course. Are we walking?" she asks.

"Sure. Bye!" I say, as I rush home. My curfew's 10p.m, but luckily enough Bridge lives like a minute away from me. We all have the same curfew, except Duncan, who comes and goes as he pleases. And of course Gwen – her curfew's 10:07. (Don't say I didn't point out Gwen's mom is crazy, because I did.)

I look at the time as I enter my house – 9:58. Duncan's probably going to be here around 1:27 (random estimate) so I don't panic.

"Hi, sweetie! How's Gwen?" my mom says as I enter the house.

"Decent. It's really tough for her though," I fake yawn, "You know, I'm really tired. I'm just going to get to bed.

"Sure."

**A/N – WOW. So they watched her, huh? Okay, tonight the summary's gonna start to kick in. The first ten chapters were like, a build-up of their relationship. On the eleventh, that's where the summary kicks in. **

_**You may – or may not – have noticed there has been no mention of Chris or Chef Hatchet. There is a reason to this. A sequel is planned, and Chris plays a major role in the sequel. The current idea is shortly after **__**the thing**__** that happens to Courtney and Duncan in the summary, the 'danger', Chris reads about it in a paper, and then you know, get the idea of TDI and tells them and stalks them for the rest of their lives as Schoolers, blahblahblah, making them do crazy challenges in school, etc., etc.**_

_**So, if this all goes well, a sequel is planned. **_

**I'm gonna do as much chapters as possible tonight to make up for me not doing any for ages….**


	11. Chapter 11

At 1:27 precisely I hear a knock on the window. I've always been good at estimating, but I feel like tonight was just pure luck. I smile to myself as I go to open the window, and the wipe the smile off my face. I'm going on a date with _Duncan_, what do I really have to smile about?

He sits, perfectly perched on the tree outside the window. I open the window, and say to him, "You should really buy a seat that you can attach to my tree."

He smirks at this, "Hey, Princess."

I sigh, "Let's hurry up and get this over and done with, Duncan."

"Sure," he says, and the jumps from the tree down to the grass. "You coming?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just don't show off like that," I reply, as I lower myself out the window and climb down the tree carefully. I can even see Duncan's look of disapproval even though I can't actually see Duncan. I jump when I'm about two feet from the ground.

"Finally," he mutters and then takes my hand and literally drags me down the street.

"So," I say, trying to start conversation with him as he drags me, "what are you- I mean, we- planning to do tonight?"

"Don't know. We'll just do whatever I see when we get into the centre."

The centre is the middle of the big shopping districts that are generally close to my house. Some older kids – I don't know, around 15 – used to slip off to the centre and cause havoc after school. I sometimes saw Duncan slip off with them – but that was rare enough.

We hit the centre in a few minutes. It's rather deserted except from the rare person smoking or just walking back from a club or something.

"Nice place, huh?" he questions. I nod as a reply, and he takes me down a few alleys. "The best places are always deeper in."

While Duncan leads me through the alleys and streets, I try and observe what's happening around this time. It's dark, and it's kind of one of those times that a wolf would come out and shred you to pieces. Empty glass bottles lie on the ground, and you can barely make out your own figure. In a way, I can see where Duncan's grouchiness in the day time comes from – this is far more interesting.

"So – um…how did the whole –like, criminal thing start?" I ask quietly.

"As I mentioned before, all my family work in the police force. I spent a lot of my time at police stations on weekends with my parents when I was younger. It was decent enough, I had Petey, who was my pet dog, and he'd always play with me. But Petey ran away when I was seven. I still had to spend my weekends at the police station, but without Petey it just wasn't any fun anymore. So, I met this dude that was being questioned. He was a criminal, it was rather obvious. I asked him what he'd done, and he said he stole some jewellery from this fancy store in the centre. And then I asked him was it worth it, and he shrugged and replied that it was. So I tried it out a few days later, and I liked it. But – if you saw a seven year old kid now walking about the streets stealing stuff, you wouldn't question him, right? So I started to get my image. I pretended to be busy on Saturdays and Sundays, though sometimes I could end up in juvie if I did something really bad. But I was seven; they could only literally keep me in less than a day. When my parents got letters home, I always got them first and hid them myself. And that's it. I guess I just went from there."

I nod. I can vaguely remember Duncan at six – he was definitely happier. But then, at six – no one was really sure what an extremely happy six year old looked like and an average six year old looked like. They all just, smile, I guess.

Duncan leads me down another alley, and then I see his faint figure stop in his tracks. He seems shaken, scared maybe. He doesn't scream, but I hear him breathing heavily.

Something's obviously wrong.

A few metres away, I can make out some figures. There's about four of them, all around the age of 15. It takes me a minute but I realise that the figures are the older kids Duncan would hang about with after school sometimes. I hear them whisper to each other in the distance, but Duncan is intimidated by them too much, he grabs my arm and starts running. It doesn't take me too long to start running alongside him. He's fast – but I was in a cross-country team a year or two ago, so I've got a decent enough pace.

"What's wrong?!" I shout to him, over the loud noise of us running and trying to get away from them. I don't turn my head, but I know they're behind us. I can even hear Duncan panting – we're too tired to make it any further, but we're still going. I don't think we've much choice. He starts cursing under his breath, but I can hear him.

"DUNCAN! You're not supposed to say those kinds of things," I hiss to him.

"I. Don't. Care. Not now anyway," he says. His face is panicked, his expression scared.

I guess he knows he messed up.

"Duncan – don't blame yourself. You didn't know they were here," I tell him.

"Well, guess what, Princess? Guess what's here – _reality_. You're still here, and so am I. And so are they. We're not safer than we ever were," he keeps running as he says this.

The people behind us are catching up on us. I see what they have – a sack, they're obviously here to take me or Duncan – and get some kind of payback, I'm guessing. And I'm the weakest link…Duncan will come after me, that's the thing.

"I love you," I tell him briefly.

"Me too?" he asks puzzled.

And then I know I'm captured…

**A/N –Okay, this is rather exciting. Now – CONFESSION – I did ask for help with the main idea of the danger. So, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to I'll Cover Angel and Collins. I did add the whole idea of getting 'captured' and all, but I couldn't have done it without her help. So…um, I'll hopefully update soon, guys. Thanks…please review. **


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N – I would like to point out first, that until Courtney is 'un-captured', the whole story will be from Duncan's point of view. I'm sorry if any of you wanted to see the Princess get what she deserved, but that ain't going to happen. So, I'm sorry. **_

I barely make it home, climbing quickly up one of the trees close to my house and climbing into the bathroom window. _Courtney, she's gone._ It takes me a second to recover from the living-nightmare of Princess gone. _She's not here_. I run to my bedroom, and grab my phone on the dresser, and I quickly fly through my contacts finding Geoff. I call him, not really expecting him to answer – but he does.

"Geoff," I say into the phone.

"Where are you, Duncan? Juvie? Huh, you got caught? Yeah?" he seems amused by this.

"_I_ didn't, but _Jones_ did. Not juvie though, she just got captured by the 15 year old gang but still she's gone," I tell him. It takes him a minute to realise Jones is Princess.

"Where is Courtney? I can't believe you Duncan…this is the stupidest thing you've ever done…what about her parents? Gwen? _Bridge_? They'll notice tomorrow- I mean today," he nearly screams down the phone. I start to pace around the room frantically.

"I didn't mean it to happen! Princess is like a ticking time bomb. She gave herself up, I couldn't stop her Geoff, I really didn't mean it to happen…like, we were finally getting along and all…" I say, "We need to get her back."

"Obviously. And you're phoning Bridge _and_ Gwen to explain. I don't care."

They'll kill me. I know it.

"I don't have their numbers," I say, stammering, trying to make an excuse. I couldn't bear telling goth kid that I lost Courtney.

"You do. Now, look, we'll talk tomorrow. I'll come round to your place at eight, and we'll walk to school and try to think of a plan, okay?"

"Sure," I tell him, my throat extremely dry. Before I can even say bye he's hung up.

Part of me is scared of calling Bridgette and Gwen. I call Gwen first, hoping that when I go to Bridgette it will make her seem calmer and give me a pleasant surprise. She picks up on the first ring.

"Duncan, you better have a good reason to call me at this time," she says sleepily.

"Good reason, bad news. Um…well, first, don't go and pick Courtney up for school tomorrow and-" I start.

"Wait, why shouldn't I pick up Courtney? Oh, _you and her,_ I forgot. Well, Duncan, I'm being honest, she's not gonna play your mind games."

"No, it's not that. Look, Gwen, I got in some trouble last night – I mean, this morning, and uh, well, I had taken Courtney along with me...and well, I got in some trouble with a gang a few years older than me, and well, I'm pretty sure they were trying to take me but they got her instead and she's not here now. Sorry," I tell her.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, RIVERS! I thought you actually cared about Courtney," she screams.

"I do, and that's why I'm calling you, see?"

"You're gonna make up for this, Duncan."

"I will."

"Now, I've actually gotta sleep believe it or not. Here your kind doesn't do it often," she says and then hangs up.

Bridgette next. It goes to voicemail.

"Hey, Bridge. It's Duncan….Duncan Rivers. Look, I got in some trouble, and Courtney got captured by a gang a few years older than me, and I'm sorry, so there. Yes, _Duncan Rivers is sorry_, and you've got it on recording. Forever. And I didn't get her in trouble on purpose, I swear. And yes, I love her," I say clearly into the phone and then end the voicemail.

I'm a terrible person. I know it. I've been told that a million times. I know what I did was wrong, and if it wasn't her, I'd feel nothing. _But it is her._ That's reality. That's what happens, it's not setup, it's real, and only in reality do the terrible things happen. Some people ask who told me I was a terrible person. First day I met Alejandro, he told me that to my face. Yeah, and Courtney reminds me nearly every day. And I am a terrible person. I'll never give up being a criminal, even after this – I'll never be a policeman like I promised my mom and dad I would when I was younger.

I sigh, and fall on my bed. In seconds, I'm fast asleep.

**A/N – This was a short chapter, I guess. I just wanted to say how the rest of the night had been for Duncan. So, um…more to come? Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13 - The Lead-up

I wake up early the next morning, and wait for Geoff to come by. Courtney is still on my mind, and I'm panicked that her parents will find out that she is gone and kill me – but of what I know of her parents, they don't really _notice_ her, if you know what I mean. Geoff comes by at eight o'clock exactly, grinning, his cowboy hat tilted so you can see his eyes.

"Hey, Duncan," he replies, grinning happily, starting to walk down the street with me following him.

"Uh, hey, Geoff," I tell him puzzled by how happy he seems. _Princess is gone_.

"Hey, Duncan, guess what happened last night? _I had this crazy dream where you called me and said that Courtney was captured by those fifteen year old kids that you hate, and she still hasn't turned up_."

"Geoff, that wasn't a dream. It's true," I tell him puzzled at why Geoff would even think of dreaming about _that_.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Look – here's my plan – we get a bunch of us to go and try to defeat them."

"Who is 'us'?"

"I don't know – me, you, Al, Trent – if we can get a few others…"

"You want me to pal up with Alejandro?" No offense – but I and Al weren't currently on the best of terms. Last time we saw each other, we were both sent to the school nurse and got detention.

"Look, do you want Courtney back, or not?"

I nod.

"Well, yeah, then we're using Al, okay?" I sigh, but nod my head.

We're just outside of the gates when I'm practically _attacked_ by Gwen, while Bridge stands over her.

"I – I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! Courtney…like, how idiotic can you be, Duncan?! So what excuse are we gonna make? Oh yeah, teacher, Courtney was captured by a gang of kids a few years older than us and hasn't turned up yet, huh!? You're an idiot," Gwen exclaims.

"I didn't do it on purpose," I insist.

"I know, but now we have to go and get Courtney," Gwen growls.

"You don't. I do."

"We're a team. We mess up together," Bridge says, towering over Gwen and me on the ground.

"I'm not part of this team. I'm a lone wolf," I persist.

"We're all part of this team, Duncan. You know it," Bridgette replies.

I hear the school bell ring in the distance. I take out my phone and see the time – 9:00. Gwen reluctantly gets off me, and sighs.

"Okay, we meet at lunch and then we come up with a plan," she says confidently.

"I'm not gonna work with you!" I reply.

"What other choice do you have, Duncan? And I'm Courtney's best friend. You're not that," she says, "Come on, Bridge," as she starts to walk into the school grounds.

"Wow," I murmur to Geoff, "she's got a temper."

"What? I was thinking about…Bridgette," he says dreamily. This is the trouble about your best friend having a girlfriend – this always happens. I roll my eyes at him, sigh, and then march into the school.

**Lunch-**

"So – I'm coming with you guys right?" Gwen demanded. I nearly choke on my food at the suggestion of this. No way am I taking goth chic with me.

"No, chica," Alejandro replies.

"I. Am. Coming," Gwen declares.

"No. You're. Not," I reply.

"How come Heather gets to go?" she whines.

"Because," Geoff persists, "she's manipulative."

"You realise that you, Geoff, Alejandro, Heather, Trent and Owen aren't going to be able to take them down on your own," Gwen points out, directing it at me, "so I vote you at least bring me. That means there's safety in numbers."

"We already _have_ safety in numbers," Heather replies.

"Yeah, but with me, you'll have more safety in numbers."

"We could bring Lindsay and we'd have more safety in numbers, Gwen," I say angrily.

"Let her come," Trent replies, "it's not like she's gonna mess it up, anyway."

"Yeah, of course _you're_ gonna say that, since you're dating her," Heather retorts, and then starts a long squabble with Trent, and soon we're all squabbling and shouting at each other.

"STOP IT!" Gwen screams. Everyone around the table, including me turns to look at her… She really does have a fiery temper. "Look, we're squabbling and fighting with each other forgetting that the real person in danger is Court! We should be out trying to help her, not trying to fight over who's gonna help her and who isn't."

A few murmurs go around the table. I'm not sure – but I think they're agreeing with _her_.

"Look, we're all here 'cause as usual Duncan screwed up big time. And Courtney's not here – and without Court our whole lives are pretty much nothing. Duncan's no one to laugh at except Harold – and he's rarely funny these days – and I and Bridge have no weird person to tell us what to do. And the rest of you are just here 'cause you feel like it and you think Courtney getting captured is a big deal and you wanna be part of the gang that gets her back. So let's just get her back."

There's an awkward silence between us all. What are we supposed to say?

"Fine, Gwen, you're right. But – you forget the most crucial thing – _how?_" Geoff asks.

"I know how," Gwen insists. I have to admit – I'm suitably impressed.

'Cause goth kid had a decent enough plan.

**A/N – LOL. So not telling ya the plan. That kinda wrecks it. This was a boring chapter, in a way, but I need a lead-up. And this chapter and maybe the next one is the lead-up that I need. Now the attack may be around 2 chapters long… Anyway, please review. I'm pleased to say over 500+ views! Thank you!**


	14. Chapter 14 - The second lead-up

"Flawed," Heather immediately claims.

"It's so bad that it could actually work," Geoff points out, only changing his sentence when he sees Gwen's face, "I mean – let's face it – it's not the best of plans."

"Yeah – well, it's the only one you guys have," Gwen interrupts, "none of you could come up with one, so we're gonna use mine."

"I can't believe," I put in, "that we're going to use that plan to save Courtney."

"Can't we all just appreciate the fact that at least we've got one plan and-" Trent persists.

"Great. The _music man_ speaks up for his _goth weirdo girlfriend_. Weird goth girl and music man_. Pair made in heaven_," Heather says sarcastically.

"So – when do you plan to put this in action?" Owen asks.

"Obviously tonight. We can't put Court off any longer," Gwen says confidently (she really should've lost all confidence by now).

"We're not prepared!" I say angrily, "I don't wanna run into them with an unorganized clan of thirteen year old kids."

"Well, then we'll organize ourselves when the time comes. Okay-hmm… meet outside Court's place, 1:30 a.m. sharp, okay? We all know her house right?" Gwen says to us.

The chorus or replies or mostly murmurs and mere mutters of 'yeah'.

* * *

><p><em><strong>End of school – <strong>_

"You gonna come round to mine?" Geoff asks calmly to me, as I stare at him, figuring out how he can be so calm in these types of situations – he doesn't panic.

"Na, I need some time to work out if the plan is really gonna work, and I usually do it alone," I reply dully. I would usually do it alone – but I also prefer doing it alone. Geoff would try and insert time to go to some nightclub and DJ would probably cry while stroking Bunny about how bad this plan is and why I shouldn't do it, and how if I didn't I would save the universe. I'm not really that keen on saving the universe from crime. First off that takes me out of a job, and second off that's what my parents are supposed to do as _their _job. And anyway – every hero needs a villain – and well, there's so many heroes in the world that we're desperately in need of some good villains.

"So – you heading home?" Geoff questions.

"Can't, can I? My mom is best friends with Princess's mom. No way am I facing that."

"You can come over to mine for the night," Geoff suggests. He knows that I'll decline – but it's like Geoff to ask.

"Na, I'll just hang about the neighbourhood," I reply, shrugging.

"Isn't that scary? Like, being all alone – wolves howling, dogs barking, murderers and criminals lurking…" DJ asks, shuddering.

"Dude, I'm a criminal myself. That's like a human being afraid of another human," I reply casually.

DJ looks at me and then Geoff, and then shrugs. He turns his head and I see someone waving at him. He waves back. "Bye Duncan, Geoff, I gotta go – I see my mother!" he says as he quickly runs off at the speed of lighting to see his mom.

"That dude," Geoff starts, "has a seriously unhealthy obsession with his mom for a 13 year old."

"No kidding. Like – why…" I start.

"DJ just naturally soft. His pet is _a bunny_, not like a cool dog or something… sorry, Duncan."

"It's okay," I reply. Geoff seems to always apologise when it comes to mentioning dogs. It's obviously because he thinks it reminds me of Petey – but I've told it several times it's okay to bring the word 'dog' into conversation – but now isn't the best time. Petey and Courtney gone really wrecks me.

"So –uh, tomorrow morning?" he says.

"Yeah. 1:30. It's hard to believe that we're actually planning to go through with this. It seems really flawed. Like the whole set-out and all. But I really can't think of any other plan, so I guess I'm sticking with this one."

"I think it's a rather good plan. Just might work," Geoff replied.

"Can we stress the words '_just'_ and '_might'_?" I ask.

"I think if we all do our part right, it will. But there's stiff an 'if' luckily if Owen messes up. To be honest, I was kinda glad that Gwen hadn't made Owen such a big part of the plan."

"The thing is we've only got one shot. If we mess up, they'll know we're on to them and take her anywhere in the city. We're just lucky that I know they're hideout really," I say.

"You know Courtney's not here," Geoff laughs, "you don't have to act like a hero. Or a villainous hero."

"I don't!"

"In front of Courtney it's pretty obvious you do. You're always desperate to impress her. Like, dude, she doesn't need to be constantly impressed with your great villainous acts."

I try and consider if I did act like a hero in front of Courtney. I never really noticed I actually did…but now, thinking about it sometimes I do.

"Like – remember that time when we were talking about the new kids when Al and CL0104 came into our class and then Courtney walked past and you started shouting, 'Hey, guess what Geoff? I robbed a bank last night. Here that Geoff!? I ROBBED A BANK LAST NIGHT!' as if you were so desperate to get her attention and another time – I'm not really sure what was wrong with you and what we were talking about but you started to say 'Hey – I auditioned for the Student Council, didn't I Geoff? And I got elected! Here that?! I GOT ELECTED!' That was how desperate you were to get her attention. I'm pretty sure she noticed you at least once. Hey – look, there's my bus. I really gotta go. See you tomorrow morning!" Geoff laughs as he runs to the line outside the bus. First off, I'm pretty sure I didn't do those things. Maybe I did things similar to those things but not exactly those. Like…I replaced Student with School…and I-I…well that was all that changed really. I never really noticed that I was that desperate to be noticed by Princess.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – LAST LEAD-UP CHAPTER! THE ATTACK IS NEXT! WOOHOO!**

**Wow…I really can't believe I've come so far! I really do love writing for FanFiction…**

**This may have been a fairly boring chapter – this is due to the fact that I want the main event to be big, and the lead-up to it can be fairly boring sometimes. So, I'm sorry. **

**I really loved writing Duncan's attempts to try and get Courtney's attentions. I might write them in scripted form at the very end of the book for some fun. Hit 600+ views, so thank you a lot! Also I mentioned Al (Alejandro) and CL0104. Now, I guess you might be wonderin' who CL128 actually is. You can guess it's Sierra. The nickname CL is Cody-Lover and Cody's birthday is on the first day of the fourth month – April Fool's, so I just added those numbers in – 01/04.**

**Also, mainly forgot to mention I don't own Total Drama, LOL. It belongs to FreshTV Inc. **


	15. Chapter 15 - The not-lead-up

I wait outside at Courtney's house at 1:26. It's dark enough for a spring morning – but then again, it's not really morning. It's just past night. I'm alone – but I have my expectations on what time they'll turn up – and I always planned to be the first. It had taken me four hours to look over Gwen's plan. It should work, but if someone messes up, with the exception of Owen of course, we're screwed. I look at my watch, although I can barely make out the time. 1:27. I guessed that Gwen and Geoff would arrive at this time. Gwen because she's always three minutes early for these kind of things, and Geoff because he's well…Geoff, I guess. At 1:28 I expect no one. 1:29? Heather, Owen, Al and Trent (apparently he has some creepy obsession with the number nine. First I have heard of it, but it doesn't really bother me. Music man can keep his obsession to himself.) But as usual, Geoff and Gwen don't appear. I always knew I should leave estimating up to Courtney, Noah and Harold.

"Hey, lover-boy," Gwen laughs, appearing from no-where – or as far as I can see, no-where. I look quickly at my watch – 1:28, and then look up at her again, about to burst. Luckily enough, I'm not as fiery as Court, and I've kinda learned a few things from Geoff in my time.

"At least I'm not in love with music man," I reply calmly.

"You shouldn't call him music man like that. You do realise that I could easily call you 'creepy criminal'," she says, nearly smiling.

"That's not even good. Like - of course I'm a criminal. I'm not seeing what point you're trying to get across here."

"See if you hadn't gone and lost Courtney, she could tell you that. Might as well wait until she comes back, huh?" Gwen says, annoyance spreading across her face.

"You're really confident we're gonna get Court back, huh?" I ask her.

"Naturally," she says, smirking, and then twists her head round. I hadn't even noticed that the rest of us are here.

"Okay," Gwen begins Gwen loudly enough, "let's rehearse the plan. Owen and Geoff, you're going to distract them. Try to do it for as long and possible. Trent and I will go around, acting causally, making sure absolutely no one knows what's going. Heather, Alejandro and Duncan will go and get her out of there while the distraction's taking place. Then we all make a run for it."

"There's faster," I objected.

"Yeah – that's where part two of the plan kicks in. We divide up, Duncan, Al, Heather and Geoff will go one way and I, Courtney, Owen, and Trent will go another way. They'll think she's with you, so they'll follow you."

"And how's that helping us?" Heather asked.

"It's not. It can't be perfect for everything one can it?" Gwen says grinning.

"This," I mutter under by breath, "is so going to fail."

"All worth a shot," Gwen says hopefully. "NOW LET'S GO SAVE COURTNEY!"

* * *

><p>"The distraction hasn't happened, Al," I say, seeing him ready to go.<p>

"My name," he says angrily, "is _Alejandro!"_

"Yeah, yeah, Al, Handro, same thing," I say, exasperatedly.

"Has he always been this bad, chica?" he asks Heather, and she grins and nods.

"Oh yeah, Ms Spoilt Brat was absolutely _perfect_, Al," I reply sarcastically. It stays silent for a moment between us, until Heather breaks the silence.

"What is Owen doing?!" she says in astonishment.

"We don't," I interrupt, pulling her along, "have time to watch! We've gotta go."

"Sure," Heather says annoyed, "let's rescue the Princess from the tower."

I quickly slip through the final alley way to an old house. It was pretty much abandoned before they came and took it. Otherwise younger children used to slip out to it and play about in it. I remember me and Geoff used to play here when we were seven – but that time's long gone. I slip in to the gardens of the house, with Al and Heath (new nickname) and creak open the door. It's so old, but I can faintly remember the lay-out of it. It used to be some kind of mansion. You can see that by looking around – the cob-webbed chandeliers that hang from the ceiling, the large winding staircase – and in the middle of the room you enter immediately – which is large and spacious – a water fountain is located. The water isn't running – but it's large and made out of marble. It's rather thick and in good enough condition if you clear off the dust – I'm surprised they never sold it. Maybe it wasn't a house after all. Maybe it was some type of business. It looks more like it anyway.

I see immediately that Heather and Alejandro are rushing around the rooms, screaming in her name. I start to do the same – they're much the same room repeated over and over again – just offices. Old computers and typewriters. I never really saw the inside of this place – I and Geoff mostly just stayed outside. I keep going on – shouting her name and opening and closing doors quickly. I was going left, and Heath and Al were going right, so we soon collide.

"No sign of her," Heath puffs out of breath.

"Second floor," I instantly say and run up the staircase. I keep going, and keep saying her name. It's only when I reach the eighth room on the second floor I hear the reply.

"DUNCAN!"

**A/N – That is her. I'll give you that, just to be sure. It's not one of the gang, it's Courtney. Um…I will update as soon as possible. Probably tomorrow if I'm able. **


	16. Chapter 16 - the Final Finale

"COURTNEY!" I say happily and rush to her. She's tied up- to a chair – and for a moment I'm grateful that they didn't hang her from the ceiling instead. I slip behind the chair and start to untie the rope that has her hands attached to the back of the chair.

"You took your time," she says, grinning, but a sense of annoyance in her tone.

"Well, yeah. Sorry. Princess."

"So…uh- just you or what? Police?" she questions.

"Just a few of us."

"What do you mean by that? Oh that's terrible. _I'm asking Duncan a question. He should be asking me the questions_," she says.

"Uh-huh, Princess, don't get used to it. Just um...me, Al, Heather, Trent, Owen, Geoff and uh – Gwen," I admit sheepishly.

She stands up, and looks around. "This place is creepy. McLean really should have looked after it better."

"McLean?" I ask. McLean? It sounds familiar enough, but I can't put my finger on it.

"Yeah. McLean. This old dude named David McLean used to own this place. Famous. Worked on TV a bit. Not much, but he was a comedian, I think. Think he had two sons and a daughter. What – Jessica, Christian and Peter. Christian or 'Chris', the second eldest is a TV presenter. Probably heard of him."

"_Chris McLean_?" I knew Chris McLean was a big TV presenter. He was famous and was big around here. I've lost count of the number of shows he hosted.

"Yep. _The_ Chris McLean. The house was given to Peter. Peter died when he was fairly young. Never wrote a will, so the house just stayed abandoned. Chris should have rightfully taken it, but he was big then. Had a better place."

"How about Jessica?" I ask.

"Jessica was never famous," she answers abruptly.

"Why not?" I question, rather puzzled.

"Didn't want to be, I guess. Chris was the only one who actually went big. Jessica's supposedly married, and Peter passed away. Peter used the house as a newspaper establishment. There was a floor above us now that he lived in - but that explains the typewriters and old computers really," she says, looking around again, "so, are we ready to go?"

* * *

><p>"Yeah. Of course," I say, smiling at her. I open the door and smile at her as she walks up. Heather's outside the door.<p>

"All other rooms were empty. It was gonna be this one," she explained. Alejandro stood beside her, only slightly towering over her. "Nice to see the C.I.T back, anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Courtney replied. We run down the stairs, and then open the doors. I peer out first to see if anybody's there, but luckily enough they aren't. We all quickly slip out and head to the back of the bank/ house/ McLean place.

"Where are we going?" Courtney asks us. I suddenly hear sirens in the background.

"We'll run round the back of the McLean place. Head out of the town from there. The rest of us have probably made it back already," I reply. She nods, and starts to run out of town, with us following her from behind.

"Ha," she jeers at me when she's ahead of me, "I am faster than you."

"You got a head start! That doesn't count," I groan, acting like a little kid.

"Course it does," she replies, "I'm pretty sure all wins count."

She starts dashing when we reach the streets. I'm tired and worn out, and she starts jeering at me, Al and Heath.

"Unfair," Heath replies, "you've got to store energy while the rest of us had to go and save your sorry butt, Princess."

"That's my nickname for her!" I growl angrily, "I'm the only one allowed to use that."

"Well, I used it punk. Beat that," Heather says smiling.

* * *

><p>Courtney starts to goes slower, and then whispers to me, "We'll get her for that."<p>

I smile at Princess, and laugh, "We sure will."

"So – we on tomorrow, I mean today, at night?" she says, giggling.

"Think we should leave it for a while," I reply.

"Sure. But we're on _some day_, right?" she persists.

"We'll be on again, Princess," I say, kissing her, "but not for a while."

She pauses, "What a weird couple we are."

"Yeah. Duncan and Courtney. DXC."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The END<strong>_ (though – it's technically not. There will be an epilogue and as promised before, I will be working on the script for embarrassing moments where Duncan tried to get Court's attention. Then a sequel will take place.)

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Aww… Sorry if this was rather short. Didn't want it to be too long, just something to sum it all up. **_**If you noticed, Chris McLean was mentioned, and this is rather part of the lead-up that leads to the second book. And I've worked out the twist for ages…this book was kinda a lead-up to the one I spent ages planning, I guess.**_

**So, I will do more work on this book over the weekend. I really would like to thank everyone who helped me out in the making of my first fic – especially ChloeRhiannonX and I'll Cover Angel and Collins. They're really good authors – so please go and look at their work! **

**Thanks to everyone for viewing and reviewing. **


	17. Epilogue

_**Epilogue – Courtney's P.O.V**_

I walk through the hallways, trying to avoid the large crowds. Not just that – but the large crowds want me to talk to them. Not that I don't want to – I'm on the Student Council after all – but I don't want to talk about that.

It's hard to believe that two weeks ago I was kidnapped by a 15 year old gang and no one knew about it except Duncan and the rest of the class. Two weeks on there's been so much publicity and excitement about it that's it hard to believe. The 15 year old gang are in juvie – and luckily enough Duncan isn't.

Yes, I and Duncan am an item now. Bridgette screamed and screamed her head off, and Gwen looked rather impressed. Duncan's been teasing me about me saying that we would never date – but he only does this occasionally.

My mum's still rather angry at me for sneaking out like that. But I did get kidnapped and she was worried, so she kind of is more happy than angry. Anyway – Duncan's having a really bad time. His mum and dad found out what he was doing – and as policemen and policewomen they pretty much hate him. Not that Duncan minds that much anyway.

Sometimes people would ask me what happened in the place and what I went through – I've been bribed to tell so many times, but I'll never tell. It seems too important to tell. It would be like throwing away a piece of me and Duncan's endless jigsaw puzzle of a relationship.

So, in all, I guess things could be worse. I heard people would be coming to the school to ask what happened – I will answer, but only the one's I want to.

The McLean place is apparently still empty. It could really be put to good use – but we're not sure if it's legal. Gwen said she faintly remembered the place from somewhere…which I don't understand. Gwen said she was one hundred per cent sure she had never entered the place though, so it puzzled me how she could remember it – but it's not something I'd absorb my time thinking about.

All couples seem to be better now – Gwen introduced Trent to his mom, and his mom told him to call her Jessica, which obviously means more or less that her mom likes him. Bridgette and Geoff seem to be more talkative now instead of kissing – but they still call each other embarrassing names, which I'm not sure is an improvement, but we're all pretending it us anyway. Lindsay and Tyler probably gained 1 IQ point, so I guess that's decent enough. Alejandro and Heather seem to be getting on well for once – less manipulating and all. Owen and Izzy – what can I say?

Some of us are still pretty shook up from the incident. It should bother me more than it does, but it isn't. I guess that's how it is.

We're all on decent terms with each other. Duncan's slowly accepting Harold as a human being – but it's taking it's time. After the incident we tried to make sure none of us went out on a bad note with each other anyway. We all know that it'll probably occur again in its own time, with me and Duncan hoping that next time it'll be to a different couple.

It's not that we don't mind it – because we don't. We just feel like that's enough kidnapping for a 13 year old C.I.T and a 13 year old criminal.

I guess it's rather weird thinking about it. Like – our parents thought it was adorable. Like – before they found he was a criminal. But luckily enough for both of us that hasn't been brought up when they're visiting.

I guess if I think about it carefully enough, I always was in love with Duncan a tiny bit. He was always in love with me, I know it. And although when you get kidnapped it should kind of tear to people apart, it's brought us together in more ways imaginable.

Bridgette and Gwen came down to reality quickly enough after the kidnapping. We all agreed to try and mention it as little as possible, and that's what we do, really. Don't think about it much.

So yeah. That's about it. The criminal and the C.I.T. - Duncan and Courtney.

I run to an empty classroom as a crowd approaches me with newspapers with our names and the incident as the headline, and close the door and lock it securely, and I sigh. Duncan and Courtney.

**A/N – That was the epilogue… I thought it was a decent enough one actually. I just wanted to tell you guys what happened after. So a lot of publicity went on…**

**Now, there was a rather major twist for the next book and there were two clues in this epilogue if you read it carefully. You'll have to read the previous chapter to understand what I'm talking about though. **

**In a way, this is the real end. The last part is just some funny scripts I wanted to add in for my own amusement. So I really would like to thank all the reviewers and viewers because I really loved writing this book so much. **


	18. The ways to get Courtney's attention

_**Duncan's 5 FAMOUS ways to get the attention of Courtney!**_

**Way 1 – The casual boast **

Duncan: So were you watching the news last night?

Geoff: Yeah. Why?

Duncan: (sees Courtney) Hey, GEOFF! REMEMBER WHEN I WRESTLED THAT FAMOUS WRESTLING DUDE AND I WON? YEAH?

Geoff: What has that got to do with the news-

Duncan: (sees Courtney leave) Just forget it.

**Way 2 – The I-Don't-Care**

Duncan: So how's Bunny?

DJ: Great! He's been eating all his food and running around safely and-

Duncan: (sees Courtney) _I don't care. Why would I care? It's just a stupid bunny._

DJ: But then why did you ask how Bunny –

Duncan (sees Courtney leave with Bridgette to go to class) Forget it.

**Way 3 – The Famous HEROIC Way. **

Duncan: (instantly spots Courtney looking over at him) Remember when I pulled that child from the railway tracks just when the train was coming and it was all over the news?

Geoff: No. I'm pretty sure you never did that.

DJ: Yeah. You never did that once.

Duncan: How could you guys forget?! I so did. We were walking to school and the kid was in danger and I pulled him off the tracks.

Geoff: (sees what's he's doing) OH Yeah! That time. I totally remember that. Right DJ?

DJ: No.

Duncan: I forgot you have the short memory.

DJ: No, I don't.

Duncan: (Courtney rolls her eyes and leaves) Ugh.

Geoff: Tough luck, dude.

DJ: I've weird friends.

**Way 4 – The Famous VILLIANOUS Way. **

Duncan: (looks at Courtney) You know, I robbed a bank last night.

Courtney: (rolls eyes) Congratulations?

Duncan: I'm thinking about doing something bigger.

Courtney: (sighs, and gets up and leaves her desk)

Duncan: (swears under his breath)

**Way 5 – I'm, like, a big deal. **

Duncan: Sorry, I was at juvie.

Courtney: _Really_?

Duncan: Yeah. It was like a big deal. I'm, like, a big deal.

Courtney: _Yeah. Yeah you are_. (Leaves immediately)

**A/N – Work for the sequel is currently underway. Should be uploaded soon. **


End file.
